Elastic articles and method of treating same



June 13, 1933. G, B, MEAGHER 1,914,143

ELASTIC ARTICLES AND METHOD OF TREATING SAME Filed 001:. 27, 1930Patented June 13, 1933 UNITED STATES.

PATENT OFFICE GLENN B. HEAGHER OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THEKENDALL COMPANY, OF BOSTON,MASSAC HUSETTS, A CORPORATION OFMASSACHUSETTS ELASTIC ARTICLES AND METHOD OF TREATING SAME Applicationfiled October 27, 1930. Serial N 0. 491,474.

This invention relates to elastic fabric and a method of treating thesame to prevent it from prematurely breaking down and losing itselasticity, the present application being a continuation in part of myapplication Serial No. 438,970, filed March 26, 1930.

In the manufacture of such articles as include in whole or in part,elastic fabric, stitching is employed to connect or attach an end of thefabric to an associated member or to other portions of the same piece,whether the same in itself be elastic or inelastic. While stitching isthe best known means now extensively employed for this purpose, it isopen to several objections, even when used in connection with textiletips and reinforcing tapes.

The elastic fabric with which my invention is particularly concerned isof the kind having elastic threads upon'which are woven inelasticthreads which in turn are interwoven with respect to each other. Suchfabric is largely employed in the manufacture of athletic supporters,hose supporters, anklets,

- versely or elastic bandages, corsets and allied articles.

Fabric of this kind is usually made in a web or strip form and isthereafter cut transotherwise into the desiredpieces, according to thecharacter of the article to be made. When the severed end of such apiece of fabric is to be secured to another piece of fabric or toanother end of the same piece, one or more lines of stitching is usuallyemployed. In some instances each cut edge is bound or tipped with areinforcing tape before it is connected to an associated part bystitching. The stitching, of course, is machine work and during thestitching-operation the needle often severs certain of the elasticthreads, Under such conditions itis apparent that when the finishedarticle is being worn, and the fabric as a whole is stretched, theelastic threads are placed under greater tension with the result thatthe severed elastic threads recede because of the natural contractiveaction of these threads. Thus, all of the strain is imposed upon theremaining unsevered elastic threads which more readily yield or stretchso that the fabric becomes loose and wrinkles or puckers in needle.

those areas beyond said severed ends. The final result is that thefabric breaks downprematurely and loses its original elasticity andhence its ability properly to serve its intended purpose.

In addition to the danger of loss of elasticlty arising from the cuttingof the threads, there is a constant tendency for the elastic threads tocome out of the joint even though they may not have been cut by thesewing When the fabric is repeatedly stretched the rubber threads have atendency to slide through the sewing. After the garment has been washeda few times the sewing has loosened considerably and the rubber threadsare then likely to pull out quite easily.

. I have found that by suitably incorporating a binder of vulcanizedlatex in the stitched sections of the elastic fabric, the clasticthreads or'strands are effectively anchored in the body of the fabric insuch a manner as to avoid premature loss of the elasticity in thegarment due to broken'or severed threads and to the pulling out of thethreads from the joint under repeated stretching. The invention will beunderstood from the follow-- ing detailed description, which, taken inconnection with the accompanying drawing, discloses a preferredembodiment thereof.

Referring to the drawing:

Fig. 1 isa perspective vlew'illustrating the invention as embodied in anathletic supporter; 1

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary View in elevation on an enlarged scale,illustrating the manner of connecting pieces or ends of elastic fabrictogether in accordance with my invention to provide a waist band for theathletic supporter shown in Fig. 1; and I Fig. 3 is a longitudinalsectional view through a portion of the article shown in Fig. 2 as takenon the line 3-3 thereof.

Referring in detail to the drawing, 1 indicates as a whole an athleticsupporter comprising a waist band 2, leg bands 3 and a sack or pouch 4.The waist band 2 is made from a suitable length of elastic fabric orwebbing, the ends of which are connected together at the front as at 5,as will be later described of both leg bands are connected to the gathered bottom end of the sack or pouch, the top end of the same, in turn,belng attached to l the bottom marginal portion of the waist band in thevicinity of the connection 5.

The fabric or webbing from which the walst and leg bands are made iselastic and usually differs in width. It consists of longitudinallyextending, elastic covered rubber threads 6 upon which are woven thefibrous warps and wefts to provide the textile portion of the fabric v7enclosing said threads. Preferably the warps and wefts of the fabric areWoven upon the elastic threads and are lnterwoven with respect to eachother wh1le sald threads are in a stretched condition and under tensionso that the textile portion of the fabric will have an elastic characterto accommodate said threads.

In accordance with one embodiment of my invention, in making up thewaist band of the supporter, the ends which are to be stitched togetherare impregnated wlth rubber latex which binds the threads of the warpsand wefts to each other and to the elastic threads to form an elastichomogeneous body. It is preferred, to use latex which has beenpreliminarily vulcanized since the unvulcanized latex must be subjectedto a vulcanizing operation after the fabric has been treated, to removethe tacky or sticky character of the rubber. In doing this there isdanger of injuring the fine rubber threads of the fabric 1n the areasadjacent the impregnated areas, the heat of vulcanization traveling intothese areas and weakening the elastic strands. However, when vulcanizedlatex is used it is merely necessary to dry the impregnated fabric togive a finished product.

Ordinarily it is difficult to effectively seal therubber threads in theelastic webbing by merely dipping the fabric into a quantity of thelatex. The consistency of latex is about that of cream, and theunbleached character of the yarn used in the webbing appears to preventsufilcient penetration to efiect an anchorage by merely dipping.

Rapid andeliective penetration of the latex into the interstices of thefabric may be effected by diluting the latex with certain wetting orpenetrating substances which act as carriers for dispersing the rubberglobules of the latex through the body of the webbin Organic solvents,other than those whic act as rubber solvents, may be used as diluentsforthe latex. Alcohol and acetone are examples of solvents of this classwhich may be used. The solvent is preferably used in the proportion byvolume of about one part of solvent to nine-parts of latex. Theseproportions, however, may be widely varied depending upon the texture ofthe fabric to be treated. When the ends of the fabric are dipped intosuch a mixture, the latex is rapidly taken up and dispersed into thebody of the fabric. Upon subsequent drying the coagulated rubberglobules form a firm binder for the rubber strands of the fabric. Inusing the organic solvents it is usually necessary to stretch thewebbing before treating it with the diluted latex.

Certain coagulating substances may be used to promote coagulation of therubber after the latex has penetrated the fabric. A satisfactory mixtureof a coagulant with an organic solvent, which may be used for thispurpose, consists of about ten parts of ammonium acetate in forty partsof ethyl alcohol. The solution of the coagulant may be applied either bydipping or spraying. The coagulant tends to shorten the time requiredfor the treatment by accelerating the coagulation of the rubber.

I have found that certain oils of vegetable origin are particularlyuseful as wetting agents. A mixture of pine oil with a sulphonatedvegetable oil has been found very good for this purpose. The sulphonatedcastor oils also may be used in this connection. Such oil or mixture ofoils, when mixed with a latex solution in the proportion by volume aboutone part of oil to thirty-two parts of latex gives a very satisfactorypenetrant mixture. This proportion of oil is a preferred minimum andlarger percentages may be used as may be required by the texture of the.fabric being treated. l/Vhen the ends of the unstretched fabric weredipped in this solution and then dried, a perfect seal of the rubberthreads in'the fabric was obtained. The penetration was rapid and nostretching of the fabric was necessary. If desired, the fabric may betreated with a suitable coagulant, as previously explained to hasten thecoagulation orprecipitation of the rub In Fig. 2 the end portions of thewaistband thustreated are indicated at 8 and appear as a somewhat densehomogeneous mass wherein the threads and elastic strands are bound toone another so that there can be no fraying of the textile threads andno receding ofthe elastic strands. After thus treating the end sectionsthe binders 9 are applied thereto by zigzag stitching as indicated at10. The abutting ends of the binders are then secured together bystitching 11. The zigzag type of stitching is preferable, inasmuch, asit gives greater flexibility.

If'desired, the binders or strips 9may be first stitched to the ends ofthe band andthen brought into abutting relation and stitched together toform the waist band before the latex is applied. The sewed end sectionsare then treated with the diluted latex solution to form a rubber binderfor the. ends of the elastic threads. By thismethod the stitchingtogether of the webbing ismade easier, inasmuch asthe needle does nothave to penetrate an impregnated mass. As in the previous method afterthe complete treatment,- the threads are effectively anchored in thebody of the fabric to prevent premature loss of elasticity.

\Vhile it is preferred to stitch the fabrics together first and thenimpregnate the sewed portions of the elastic fabric the impregnating maybe done before the fabrics are stitched without departing from theinvention.

Latex has proven to be an unusually effective agent for thus anchoringthe elastic rubber threads in the body of a piece of elastic webbing. Itmay be used in the form of a enetrating fluid, as explained, to form arubber binder without injuring the rubber threads of the fabric. This isan important feature of the invention. such as rubber cement, tend toinjure the elastic threads of the fabric, because the solvents whichhave to be used with them will dissolve the rubber threads causing themto end short of the rubber mass formed by the cement. The rubber threadsare so fine that the solvent acts on them long'before the cement canset, leaving the ends of the threads free near the edge of the areatreated. This, in effect, nullifies the very object of the treatment.Datex, on the other hand, may be diluted with a wetting or penetratingagent which has no effect on the rubber threads of the fabric. The fluidconstituents of the latex itself do not injuriously affect the rubberstrands.

WVhen latex, or the like, is used as the anchoring agent it adheres tothe rubber threads of the fabric and effectively anchors said threads inthe fabric, but does not coalesce with the threads or in any waydisintegrate or impair the structure thereof.

While I have particularly emphasized the use of latex in solution with apenetrating ingredient, suchas an organic solvent or an oil, I do notwish to have the invention understood as limited to such use of latex.Ef fective .penetration of the fabric by latex alone, without a diluent,may be obtained by the use of mechanical means; for example, the latexmay be worked into the webbing by friction and drying under pressureeither with or without heat. A good seal can be obtained in this manner.Such processes, however, do not appear to have the commercialpossibilities of the methods involving the use of latex in conjunctionwith a penetrating agent.

The foregoing detailed description has been given for clearness ofunderstanding only and no unnecessary limitations should beTunderstoodtherefrom,'but the appended claims Binding agents,.

should be construed as broadly as permissible in view of the prior art.a

' What I regard as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

' 1. The method of treating an elastic fabric having rubber threads toanchor said threads, which consists in impregnating a portion of thefabric with a binder of latex. 2. The method of joining a piece ofelastic fabric having rubber threads to an adjacent piece of fabric bystitches passing through said impregnated portion.

4. The'method of treating an elastic fabric having rubber threads toanchor said threads, which consists in impregnating a portion of thefabric with a binder of vulcanized latex.

5. The method of joining a piece of elastic fabric having rubber threadsto an adjacent piece of fabric, which consists in stitching together theadjacent edge portions of said pieces of fabric and impregnating theelastic fabric with vulcanized latex to anchor the threadsthereof alongthe line of stitching.

6. The method of joining a piece of elastic fabric having rubber threadsto an adjacent piece of fabric which consists in impregnating an edgeportion of the elastic fabric with a inder of vulcanized latex, dryingthe impregnated area, and stitching said impregnated portion to an edgeof the adjacent fabric.

7. The method of anchoring the elastic threads in the body of a piece ofelastic fabric, which consists in impregnating an edge portion of thewebbing with a solution comprising a mixture of vulcanized latex and apenetrating agent, and thereafter drying the impregnated area.

8. The method of anchoring the elastic threads in a piece of elasticfabric which consists in impregnating an edge portion of the fabric witha solution comprising a'mixture of vulcanized latex and a penetratingagent, thereafter treating said portion with a coagulating agent, andfinally drying the impregnated area. j

9. The method of anchoring the elastic threads in a piece of elasticfabric, which consists in impregnating an edge portion of the fabricwith a solution comprisinga mixture of vulcanized latex and a vegetableoil, and

thereafter drying the impregnated area.

10. The method of anchoring the elastic fabric with a solutioncomprising a mixture of vulcanized latex and a sulphonated vegetableoil, and thereafter drying the impregnated area.

11. A stitched fabric having elastic threads therein, the stitchedportion of the fabric having a coagulum of vulcanized latex incorporatedtherein to anchor the elastic threads and prevent the same from recedingfrom the stitching as a result of repeated stretching.

12. An elastic fabric incuding rubber threads, a portion of said fabricbeing .impregnated with a latex binder to anchor the threads in saidfabric and prevent the same from receding with consequent-loss ofelasticity of the, fabric, said binder adhering to the elastic threadsof said fabric without coalescing therewith.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name to this specification.

GLENN B. MEAGHER.

